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Residents whose houses have been flooded will receive a payment of £500. The council will identify residents who are eligible for this payment, which will be made directly into people’s bank accounts using details from their council tax direct debit records. Those who were flooded and do not pay council tax by direct debit should contact the council on or after Monday 4 January 2016 so that cheque payments can be arranged. Forms will be available on the Council’s website at www.bury.gov.uk or people can ring 0161 253 5000.

We will be working hard to make payments as fast as possible next week and, if you have been flooded and have not been paid by Monday 11 January, please call 0161 253 5000.

Council tax – residents who have had to leave their home due to flooding will not have to pay council tax on the property they have left (for up to 12 months) until they return home. Residents will need to let us know that they have left their property and again forms will be available on the website or people can ring 0161 253 5000 from Monday 4 January.

Businesses – those who have been flooded out of their premises will not have to pay business rates on these premises (up to 12 months) until they re-open. Again, for letting us know, please see the website or ring 0161 253 5000 from Monday 4 January.

Two bases have been set up where volunteer groups will help those affected by the floods. These are at the Grant Arms in Ramsbottom (until Friday) and at Radcliffe Girls and Boys Club. Anyone who wishes to donate goods – from furniture to bedding and personal hygiene products - is asked to take these donations to one of these centres.

Bins: extra collections of grey and brown bins took place in the worst affected streets in Ramsbottom and Radcliffe.

Waterside: the former Waterside pub in Summerseat is currently being demolished. Due to high winds and structural issues, this is likely to take until next week. Once the work is safely completed, staff will be able to remove debris from the river and immediate area. Please stay away from the area for your own safety and that of those doing the work.

Skips: five extra skips were provided for residents to dispose of items: at Warth Road, Kendal Drive, York Street (near Ripon Close) and two in Dumers Lane (next to the sub station at the top of Borough Avenue). These skips were emptied and will be put back in place for further collections over the coming days.

Cleaning up: teams are in action clearing up the borough, including removing debris from roads and flood damaged items, and checking road gullies.

* Radcliffe Market Hall is closed until further notice due to flooding.

Traffic signals are being installed to control traffic near the bridge at Railway Street/Rowlands Road in Summerseat.

Councillor Mike Connolly, leader of Bury Council, said: “As a Bury man born and bred, I thought I’d seen it all – but the response to this unprecedented, almost apocalyptic, level of flooding was truly magnificent.

“We can all be proud of the way in which our public services and individuals came together to deal with this huge challenge.

“Volunteers have been working all over the borough to support affected communities. People have been incredibly generous; financially, with food and clothing donations, and with their time. It proves what we've always known - that Bury is indeed a very special place.”

Cllr Connolly said he has been talking to the Government about getting financial aid to Bury urgently to repair the borough’s infrastructure.

He added: “Thankfully there has been no loss of life or serious injury, but our aim now is to help those whose Christmas was ruined and are now trying to put their homes and lives back together. I hope that the money we are providing through the Bury Flood Relief Scheme, as detailed above, will help residents and businesses to get back on their feet.”

Mike Owen, the council’s chief executive, outlined the sheer scale of the problems which arrived on Boxing Day.

“We started out with flooding in Summerseat that was so severe it demolished the historic Waterside building, and almost simultaneously received notification of more than 70 incidences of serious flooding,” he said.

“Just as we were dealing with this, we heard that Ramsbottom town centre was under water, quickly followed by flooding in Radcliffe, bridges being swept away, a gas explosion and a sewage leak. Staff were running from one crisis to another, trying to keep the public safe and setting up rest centres in Radcliffe Civic Suite, Castle Leisure Centre and Holcombe Brook Primary School.

“I want to pay tribute to all our staff, our partners in the police, fire service and Six Town Housing, and the whole community for their outstanding efforts in dealing with this crisis.”